Me, my partner, Chris, and our beautiful fur-baby, Milo
Dr. Lisa Robison (she/her/hers)
Dr. Robison is currently an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, FL! Her current research investigates the role of environmental factors in the risk and progression of dementia, as well as identifying novel pharmacological interventions. Her work is funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the American Heart Association, a President's Faculty Research Development Grant from NSU, and a Faculty Research Fellowship awarded by the College of Psychology at NSU. In 2023, she was awarded the Provost's Research and Scholarship Award from Nova Southeastern University; this highly competitive annual award is given to the top researcher/scholar at the Assistant Professor level in STEM and Health/Medicine.
She received her Bachelor's in Molecular Biology from Colgate University and first fell in love with neuroscience while working during her summers off from Colgate as a research assistant in the Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging Lab of Drs. Panayotis Thanos and Nora Volkow (NIDA). She continued working in this lab as an NIH IRTA postbac fellow; her major projects involved studying the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin; ADHD medication) and the use of aerobic exercise to prevent/treat addiction. She attended graduate school at Stony Brook University, receiving her PhD in Integrative Neuroscience. Her dissertation work with Drs. John Robinson and William Van Nostrand investigated the effects of modifiable lifestyle factors, including exercise and environmental enrichment, on healthy aging and dementia. She was awarded the Biopsychology Founders Endowed Fellowship for Research from Stony Brook University for this work. Following her PhD, she went on to work with Dr. Kristen Zuloaga as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Albany Medical College, investigating sex differences in metabolic and vascular contributions to dementia, with particular interest in the effects of high fat diet and metabolic disease.
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She previously taught at Stetson University, Stony Brook University, SUNY College at Old Westbury, SUNY Albany, and Albany Medical College. As a graduate student, she was awarded the Psychology Department Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student, from Stony Brook University. She enjoys teaching a wide variety of courses, such as Intro Neuroscience, Research Methods in Behavioral Neuroscience, Intro Psychology, Neuro/psychopharmacology and Addiction, Behavioral Neuroscience, Neuroanatomy, Health Psychology, Statistics, and Research Methods in Psychology.
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In her free time, she enjoys cooking (mostly because she loves eating), attempting to stay engaged in somewhat athletic activities (hiking with her family, Zumba, golf, bowling ... it's a far cry from the high school glory days of being a three-sport athlete), watching and referencing The Office and Schitt's Creek whenever it's appropriate (and also when it's not), snuggling fuzzy animals (especially her dog, Milo), and hunting for the world's most perfect taco (no further explanation needed for this one). As a previous life-long New Yorker, she is definitely loving the change of scenery (palm trees!), wildlife (including the animals), and weather that South Florida has to offer.